Vampire Hunter
by KizaRagore-chan18
Summary: "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb..." Between Jasper and Ivy, it's hard to tell who's who. He's a vampire, and she hunts 'em. And when you fall in love with your prey, there's no rule that can't be broken. Set pre-Twilight and during too, I don't own the characters, except Ivy and other OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.  
**

* * *

Nothing will ever be the same again.

I've lived in Forks all my life. That's like eighteen years, and in all that time, I have never felt anything like this.

I stared at those butterscotch eyes, and they stared right back at me.

Yes, they were beautiful. They were rich. They were intelligent. They were unfamiliar, exotic, alien and everything that didn't belong to my sleepy little hometown.

They were dangerous.

The family that had just moved into Forks was one of vampires, and there was nothing I was more certain of than that.

* * *

_Vampires. Oh my god, they're fucking VAMPIRES, and what the fuck are they doing here?_

Edward Cullen's head whipped around in shock. He turned and stared around the cafeteria, searching for the one with the mental voice he had just heard.

It was easy to find her. Judging by her train of thought, the girl was now desperately trying to avoid his gaze. He soon saw her. Her head was a mass of ash blonde waves and nothing more, since she had ducked so far down as to hide her face completely.

"Edward?" Rosalie's voice chimed, a hint of confusion in it. The whole table turned to him.

Jasper frowned as he noticed the sudden tension, fury and slight fear that roiled around inside his brother.

Edward turned back to the others, who were watching him with expressions that were all somewhere between concerned and confused.

"I heard one of them." His voice was low and vehement. "A girl. She knows. What we are."

Now all the expressions were various degrees of stunned.

Emmett was the first to recover. "_How_?"

"Who knows?" Edward replied. "We'll have to talk to Carlisle and Esme. We can't stay here."

"Who is she?" Alice asked curiously.

"The one on the Farr boy's table- blonde, with a purple clip in her hair." He replied.

Almost on cue, the girl looked up.

Her eyes widened in fear at the sight of the whole Cullen clan looking at her. She looked down and began to worry her lower lip with her teeth. Again, she looked up, and this time, she locked eyes with Jasper.

Jasper inhaled sharply. His family's eyes shifted to him.

"Jasper…" Alice said warningly.

Suddenly the girl stood up, lifting her empty tray. Michael Farr, who was sitting beside her, looked up at her in surprise. "You leaving already, Ivy?" He asked.

She nodded, trying her hardest to smile naturally. "Yeah, got some work I kind of need to finish, or Mrs. Goff will have my blood. Can I borrow your book?"

Edward couldn't help his wry smile as he heard her hysterical mental giggle. _Haha. She's going to have my blood. And she's not even the vampire._'

"Sure thing." Michael flashed her a smile as she left the table. She dumped her tray and walked as quickly as she could out of the cafeteria. Just before she left though, she threw another nervous look over her shoulder, and once more, her eyes met Jasper's. Edward heard her heart give a few irregular thumps, and heard her swallow as she turned away and made her escape.

"Jasper?" Alice put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Edward didn't need his mind-reading gift to tell what was going on in his brother's mind.

Jasper simply continued to stare blankly at the cafeteria door. Alice looked worried, Emmett astonished, and Rosalie utterly nauseated.

As for Edward, he was now _certain_ that the girl had been right. They were dangerous. To her.

One of them, anyway.

* * *

Ivy hurried to the classroom, fingering a pendant that lay just above her t-shirt. _Let's see if this works, like Mama said it would._

It was a necklace, but a rather quaint one. Nothing one would find in a jewelry store, and certainly not the kind a teenage girl would normally wear. And this necklace aside, Ivy was a perfectly normal girl.

The chain itself was the thinnest possible silver, almost thread-like. A single gem dangled from it, darker than crimson, shaped like a tear drop. Garnet.

She withdrew Mike's notebook from his bag and opened it. The words in his messy handwriting blurred into each other as she fell into a reverie and stared unseeingly before her.

_Does Mama know? And the Quileute elders… Uncle Billy? Why have they let them come? Are they going to do anything about it? And…_ She raised a hand to shade her eyes and frowned. _Didn't Mama say that vampires have red eyes? Theirs are golden… amber… butterscotch… golden… hazel… buttersco-_

She felt a flash of something as she remembered the gaze of the blond one. The perfect face. The expression in his eyes. What had it been? Shock… fear… something else… _hunger_?

She shivered and fingered her pendant again. She was going to be staying away from _that_ one for sure. She had no intention of being his next meal.

* * *

The bell rang, and Ivy gathered up her books. As she made her way to her (rather beat-up) car, her path was blocked by the last person she wanted to see right then.

"I don't believe we've met, but my girlfriend and her brother are in your Spanish class. I'm Emmett Cullen, and these are my younger siblings, Edward and Alice Cullen." He was big, and handsome, and terrifying with his politeness.

She caught a glimpse of his siblings behind him, and decided that this was the worst day of her life.

"Em?" An outraged feminine voice interrupted the meeting, or encounter, or whatever it was. Ivy turned; it was the stunning blonde one and her handsome blond brother. She dropped her eyes to the pavement rather than meet his gaze.

"And these are Rosalie and Jasper Hale. Siblings, like us." Emmett continued, slipping an arm around Rosalie's waist. "What's your name?"

She squared her shoulders. "Ivanna… Fraye. Is this your style, then? You like to play with your food before you eat it?"

_Smoot, idiot. Subtlety, thy name is Ivanna._ She saw 'Edward' grin, a ghost of a smirk. Her fear rose, although she kept her face smooth, impassive, except for a raised eyebrow.

Emmett looked amused. "Direct, aren't you? And no, we're not interested."

"Good. Because neither am I." She hitched her bag more securely onto her shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be, with people who _don't_ intend to make a snack out of me… at some point."

She sidestepped them and unlocked her car. "There's no need to be afraid." Jasper said soothingly. She _knew_ it was he who had spoken, even if her back was turned. Call it intuition, call it whatever… she just _knew_. She swung around. "Afraid? Of _you_?" She sneered, even as all her self-preservation instincts were telling her to _shut up and drive away_, or she really would be their next meal. And she was scared. _Very_ scared. But even the best are entitled to fear, right?

"Don't make the mistake of thinking _that_ of me, blood drinker." She said in a low voice. "I know ways of destroying you that even you don't."

The beautiful blonde bared her teeth in what the innocent highschooler would imagine to be a grin. "Is that a threat, girl?"

"One wrong move from you and it may well be. It may interest you to know that I'm not alone." Ivy got into her car, flinging the bag onto the passenger seat. "And really, I have a name. Use it." She scowled.

"Who called us 'blood drinkers'?" Emmett asked, eyebrows raised. Ivy started up her engine.

"I didn't realize monsters were picky." She said venomously. Edward growled. She met his eyes coolly, but the little girl inside her was quaking. A moment later, she moved out of the parking lot. _Boy, Ivy, you sure flirt with danger, don't you?_

"Pity she's a threat." Emmett mused. "I'd actually like that one."

Rosalie scoffed. "I've never seen a girl with such a horrible attitude. Actually _threatening _us!"

"I have!" Alice piped up mischievously. "Her name starts with R and ends with E and she's my brother's-"

"Ha ha, you're funny, Alice." Rosalie snapped. "But she really is a threat, Emmett. I say we move."

"Relax. We'll talk to Carlisle and Esme and hear what they have to say." Emmett said. "Little firecracker. Ivanna, was it?"

"Farr called her 'Ivy'. I like that better." Alice said.

"I like 'Ivanna'." Jasper put in softly. He was staring out of the window. "It's a beautiful name."

A short silence greeted his pronouncement. "Jasper, I don't like it." Edward said quietly.

"What don't you like, Edward?" He asked deliberately.

"What I'm hearing in your head right now!" Edward exploded. "It's _dangerous_- to her, to you, and by extension, to us!"

"If you don't like it, maybe you should stop listening for once." Jasper replied quietly. "You can have no idea how I feel about her."

"What is this, Jazz?" Alice asked, her eyes troubled. "Is she your… your singer?" Rosalie and Emmett glanced at each other fearfully. For Jasper to have a singer…

"No." Jasper said slowly. "No, I don't think so. She smelt no different… no more… tempting than the rest of them. She… tempts me… differently."

"Yeah, bro, minor problem with that." Emmett said conversationally as they pulled into their driveway. "I noticed she kind of hates us."

"Hello, dears. Good day?" Esme asked brightly. Her smile faltered as she took in their expressions. "Oh no, what's wrong?"

"Esme…" Edward's voice was grave. "Where's Carlisle?"

"I-In his study, of course. Actually, now he heard that, he's coming down now." Esme replied. "Edward, dear-"

"What is it, son?" Carlisle asked, hurrying down the stairs. "All of you- you look unhappy."

"Carlisle, we've been discovered."

* * *

**Review! Do you like Ivy? What do you think of her? Do let me know.  
Kiza.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

"Carlisle, we've been discovered." Edward said.

The older vampires looked at each other, shocked. "How?" Esme gasped.

"I don't know. But she knows that vampires exist, and I assume she's encountered one before. She knew the moment she saw us at lunch. I heard her." Edward replied.

"This is… unexpected." Carlisle muttered. "Should we move?"

"I suppose so." Emmett said. Rosalie made a decisive noise of agreement. Alice gave a tiny nod, as did Edward. The four of them looked at Jasper.

He clearly disliked the scheme. It was all over his face. All the same, it was far too risky to stay.

"Maybe not."

All eyes snapped to Esme. She looked at them, eyes wide and hopeful.

"Esme… she's too much of an exposure risk." Alice said. "A girl like her… she'll stop at nothing to get rid of us."

"Think, Alice." Esme urged her. "Do you see us being exposed anytime soon? If she were such a risk, you would have seen something by now."

"Not necessarily." Alice argued. It made sense though. She foresaw threats. Any possible threat to her family- attacks, exposure- and Alice would know.

What did it mean, then, that Ivanna exposing them hadn't occurred in any of her visions?

Edward heard Jasper's thoughts. He gritted his teeth. "No, Jasper."

"I don't appreciate your prying, Edward." Jasper replied in a hard voice.

"You know as well as I do that I can't help it."

"You know as well as I do that you can ignore it."

"What is it?" Carlisle asked. "What is Jasper thinking?

"He wants to talk to this girl." Edward bit out. Jasper suddenly felt engulfed by a great wave of negative emotions. Shock, anger, disgust, incredulity, horror, fear, doubt… was that hope?

It was coming from Esme. He looked at her, silently pleading with her.

"I'm sure we could reason with her." Esme suggested. They all knew how much Esme liked Forks. "If, as Edward says, she's encountered vampires before, and it's still a secret even in her hometown, perhaps she can be trusted."

"Forget exposure." Rosalie suddenly snapped. "Jasper, are you stupid? Don't you remember what she said?"

Jasper's face hardened.

"Wait, fill us in, please." Carlisle ordered. "Jasper?"

"She said that she isn't afraid… that she knows ways of killing us that even we wouldn't be aware of. But she was afraid. I could feel it." Jasper said reluctantly. "And she said she wasn't alone."

"That'll be the Quileutes. Is she one of them?" Carlisle asked. "Her attitude would make sense then."

"No." Alice replied. "She's blonde. Looks nothing like the dogs."

"Ways of killing us that we are unaware of." Carlisle muttered. "Is that what she said?"

Edward confirmed.

"Was there anything special about her? Or was she a perfectly ordinary girl?"

"Real little spitfire, but pretty ordinary, yeah." Emmett replied.

"And not even noticeably pretty." Rosalie remarked, glancing at Jasper.

A small growl rumbled out of Jasper's chest. One of Esme's fine eyebrow's rose. "Jasper?"

"I'm sorry, Esme." He muttered, slipping out of the crouch his body had moved into. He suddenly smiled brilliantly. "She's a fascinating one… for a human."

"I never got her name." A small smile curved Esme's lips as she observed her son.

"Ivanna."

"I loved her necklace." Alice observed. "Very fine silver chain, and a red drop-shaped pendant. Real garnet."

"Garnet?" Carlisle asked sharply. All eyes shifted to him. Alice nodded.

"Drop-shaped? Like a teardrop?"

Another nod.

"Interesting." He stood in silence for a few minutes. "Alice, come with me." He led her into his study.

"What was that about?" Emmett asked, nonplussed.

"We'll know soon enough. I think he's got a lead." Edward replied.

* * *

"There are vampires." Ivy looked into Billy Black's deep, dark ones. "In Forks."

A strange look came into the man's eyes. He glanced at the woman sitting quietly in the corner. "Are you sure?" Ivy gave him a look. "Okay, okay. You saw them, then?"

"They're at my school." She said. "Kind of cornered me when I was trying to get into the car."

"They _what_?!" Billy shouted. His eyes were wide with panic. "Ivanna… are you alright-?"

The woman made a strange movement, and a small hiss of breath escaped her clenched teeth. Ivy felt her eyes run over her, assessing her.

"I'm here, aren't I?" She replied impatiently. "What are we going to about them?" She looked at both the older people. "Mama?"

"Did they speak to you?" The woman asked. "Did they threaten you in any way?"

"No… they said they weren't interested." But who knew how much a blood drinker's word was worth? Personally, Ivy wasn't willing to bet a dime of hers that this lot were harmless.

"Smooth words." Nadezhda sneered. "I say we act quickly. Exterminate them."

"We don't have a pack." Billy reminded her. "It'll be only you and Ivanna, and I don't want that on my conscience."

"You _animals_!" Nadezhda snapped. "When it comes to action, you wait on the blood drinkers!"

Ivanna blushed out of shame, and shot Billy an apologetic glance. The older man looked unfazed, and only a flash of his dark eyes betrayed his anger. "You know how the enchantment works. We will soon have at least a few pack members, and I will be able to instruct them so that you and Ivanna will have the necessary support."

Nadezhda scowled.

"I could be wrong," Ivanna began slowly. "But I think we should wait a little longer. There's something different about this coven… I'm not sure what, but there is something."

"How different is one vampire from another, Ivanna?" Billy asked. "There are stories… legends of those that survive only on animal blood, that don't hunt humans… but are they really believable?"

"The people on this rez believe the stories to be just that- stories. But we know better." Ivanna countered. I don't mean they aren't dangerous. Of course they are- I know vampires. But how many vampires have you seen with _golden_ eyes, Billy?"

Billy leaned forward in his wheelchair, and Nadezhda raised an eyebrow. "Golden eyes?" Billy breathed. "That's in the stories, Ivanna. The coven that claimed to drink only from animals were said to have eyes the colour of molten gold. Or so their leader claimed… Carlisle Cullen."

Ivy froze. "That's them. Cullen. Hale and Cullen. Are they… could they be the same ones?"

"Both of you stop it this minute!"

Nadezhda's voice cracked the tense atmosphere like a whip. "_You_," She pointed at her daughter. "Are foolish enough to believe that a _coven_ of _blood drinkers_ could be _different_, simply because they have pretty-coloured eyes! Have you forgotten why we fight those monsters?! And _you_," She turned upon Billy. "Are witless enough to encourage her! Has age clouded your senses, old man? We live to destroy these monsters, these aberrations- it is what our family, _your father's family, _Ivanna, has done for generations beyond count! And yours, Billy Black- are you not their natural enemy? And yet both of you sit here, debating about whether it could be possible that they may not be a danger, simply because a teenage girl's heart has been touched by a glance from their conniving eyes!"

* * *

"What are you thinking, Jasper?!" Rosalie shouted. "If she's allied with the Quileutes, she's our enemy! She said so herself! We're not going to run the risk of exposure or attack because you can't take your eyes off her!"

Jasper snarled. But he couldn't deny the truth of her words.

* * *

"Mama!" Ivanna shouted, cutting short her mother's harangue.

"Nadezhda, please." Billy raised his voice. "We do not _believe_ they could be harmless, we are simply debating the possibility. At the end of the day, they are still vampires, and we are their enemies. But why provoke a fight when there may be none?"

"And I haven't forgotten why we fight them, Mama." Ivanna said quietly. "The man who died was my father, not just your husband. A look from a beautiful monster's eyes is not going to change that."

* * *

"If it comes down to a fight, I will fight for our family. You know that." Jasper replied heatedly. "Even if Ivanna is on the other side."

"Which she will." Carlisle said, entering the 'dining room' with Alice on his heels. "She's a vampire hunter. I traced her family… easy enough, since she's always been in Forks. It's quite amazing actually, generations upon generations, all of them vampire hunters. If there's a war, there's no question whose side she'll fight on."

"Not ours, that's for sure." Edward muttered, glancing at Jasper.

Carlisle's eyes softened as they looked at his son's stricken face. "I said, _if_ there's a war. We could speak to the Quileutes. Show them we're not a threat."

* * *

"We ought to speak to them, though." Ivy said to Billy in an undertone as she left the house. "I don't like it, but we need to be sure."

"If the red-eyes come along, and these are on our side, it'll be quite a help. Not that I like the idea, but…" Billy agreed, although the idea of allying with vampires made his stomach heave. Ivy agreed with him there.

* * *

"Do you think they'll listen?" Jasper asked guardedly. "The dogs are our natural enemies, after all."

"Perhaps. I'm mentioned in their legends, after all… the leader of the strange golden-eyed ones." Carlisle's grin faltered as he took in his son's serious face. "There's certainly a chance, Jasper. More than that, I can't say."

"I'm not willing to take that chance." Rosalie said flatly.

"Emmett?"

"Whatever works. I still think it's risky, though."

"Alice?"

"Oh, I don't know. Now that the dogs are involved I can't see anything much, but as far as I _can _see, Ivy doesn't seem to be shooting her mouth off. Maybe it's worth the risk." Alice shrugged.

"Edward?"

"No. And as to what you're thinking, Carlisle, I think that's out of the question." The two men shared a look.

"Esme, my love?"

"I think we should take the risk. Anything in order to stay. And Jasper wouldn't like to leave." The warmth of her love washed over him, and he smiled.

"I think we should at least try." Carlisle's voice was final. "If it fails, we can still move. Agreed?"

There was a half-hearted sound of agreement.

"As a prelude to this meeting-" Carlisle continued.

"Carlisle, _no_." Edward bit out.

"-Jasper, I'm asking you to try and make Miss Ivanna believe that we're not a threat." Carlisle continued relentlessly. Or at least, to have strong doubt about her own stance. Can you do that?"

Jasper stared at his father.

"Even Jasper sees how risky it is. Carlisle, this is insanity. The girl won't last two days."

Jasper's eyes flicked to Edward in irritation. "Alice, how risky is it?"

Her voice was reluctant as she answered, "Very, but… I don't see it going… bad."

"Then I'll do it."

"Jasper, are you insane bro?" Emmett asked angrily. "This is really pushing it."

"A little faith would be nice, all of you." Esme scolded, putting a hand on Jasper's shoulder. "Just because you doubt yourselves, there is no reason for you to discourage Jasper."

"Thank you, Esme." Jasper said.

* * *

"You need to get a sense of how dangerous they really are, Ivanna. You're our only link to them." Billy said urgently. Ivy didn't bother with protesting. It was true.

She didn't bother hiding the disgust on her face either. "Count on me."

* * *

"He's going to be the ruin of us." Rosalie muttered mutinously to Emmett and Edward. For once, the latter agreed with her.

* * *

"You are insane, the shame of our family. You are going to your own death." Nadezhda told her daughter coldly.

Ivy sighed as she lay down. "Fucking vamps. They're going to be the death of me."

* * *

"Good morning… Ivanna." A smooth voice made her look up. It was the gorgeous blond male. Jasper, was it?

"Hey." One was as good as another… and if he was making the effort, why not? She didn't quite smile, but she kept her hostility to a minimum.

"May I sit here?" He gestured to the seat beside her. His eyes were a clear, shining butterscotch, she noticed. Somehow, that meant something. Something important.

She noticed the way he held himself: on a leash so tight, so taut that he feared for his own control.

He really was making the effort.

"Sure, Jasper." She gave him the smallest of smiles, so small that perhaps it wasn't even a smile, really.

_Here we go._

* * *

"So it begins." Edward murmured.

"What's 'it'?" Alice asked.

"Something important, but I have no idea what." He replied.

* * *

**Review!**

**~Kiza.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. And the poem is by Pablo Neruda. I'm not sure if it was originally in English or Spanish, but I found it in English and translated it into Spanish. No credits to me, of course; all Google Translate. **

* * *

Spanish class was… surprisingly alright, considering that a vampire was sitting beside her. There was no sign of the bloodthirsty creature in Jasper's eyes and demeanor, and in turn, Ivy kept her hostility and disgust to a minimum. Although when they looked at each other, she couldn't shake the feeling that he knew exactly how she felt about him sitting beside her, she chalked that up to the fact that she hadn't really kept her emotions toward his kind under wraps during their previous encounters.**  
**

And it wasn't just sitting beside him, it was the whole damned 'get-to-know-them' thing that she'd agreed to. She wondered if she had a subconscious death wish.

"What does this mean?" She asked, tapping her sheet with her pen. He turned his head, and she slid the paper over to him. Rule number one: you stay in your space and I'll stay in mine.

He tilted his head to look down. "It's a poem by Pablo Neruda." He replied quietly.

"I know _that_, it says so." Ivy huffed. "What does it _mean_?"

One corner of his lips lifted in a smile. Ivy's heart skipped a beat; monster or not, he was _beautiful_. Realizing the train of her thought, she raised an eyebrow at him to get her mind back to the question.

"I was coming to that." He said. His voice was low-pitched, but perfectly audible, as he read the lines in a perfectly-accented, near-husky tenor.

"_En la ola de la huelga más inquieto piedras  
las ráfagas de brillo y lleva la rosa  
y el anillo de contratos de agua en un cluster  
a una gota de salmuera azul que cae.  
O resplandor magnolia romper en espuma,  
voyager magnética cuya muerte florece  
y regresa, eterna, de ser y la nada:  
salmuera destrozado, deslumbrante salto del océano.  
Fusionado, tú y yo, mi amor, sello del silencio  
mientras que el mar destruye sus formas continuas,  
derrumba sus torres de salvajismo y blancura,  
porque en la trama de las prendas de vestir que no se ven  
de la cabeza del agua y la arena perpetua,  
tenemos la suela, la ternura implacable."_

He looked up at her, directly into her eyes, and she saw something smoldering there; what, she didn't know.

"What does it mean?" She asked again, but without the irritated tone of before. Her voice was as quiet as his.

"_In the wave-strike over unquiet stones  
the brightness bursts and bears the rose  
and the ring of water contracts to a cluster  
to one drop of azure brine that falls.  
O magnolia radiance breaking in spume,  
magnetic voyager whose death flowers  
and returns, eternal, to being and nothingness:  
shattered brine, dazzling leap of the ocean.  
Merged, you and I, my love, seal the silence  
while the sea destroys its continual forms,  
collapses its turrets of wildness and whiteness,  
because in the weft of those unseen garments  
of headlong water, and perpetual sand,  
we bear the sole, relentless tenderness."_

She stared at him as he smoothly translated the entire poem to her in one go, without bothering to look at the paper. Rather, his eyes didn't once shift from hers as he spoke, and suddenly she had a feeling that this wasn't merely to do with the poem. Not anymore. This was dangerous.

"Wow." She wondered when she had leaned so far forward, as she drew back. "That was something. Thank you."

She gulped as she realized what she had done. Bending over the book and turning away from Jasper, she gritted her teeth.

Rule number one had been all about _personal space_. And she'd gone and broken it.

She decided to put all the blame on him and his stupid vampire beauty. No wonder she'd been _allured_; they were the world's best predators, after all.

Jasper eyed Ivanna, puzzled. The emotions he could sense inside her were a curious mixture of warm and cold feelings, and it was driving him crazy. Sitting beside her, he was so very aware of her: the smell of her blood, her hair, each and every movement she made, the sound of every breath she took, the roil and change of her emotions… all stirred feelings in him, feelings he couldn't even describe to himself, for fear of what they might mean for him, for his family, for _her_.

He turned his head away from her, but he could still see, in his mind's eye, her features. How pretty they were. How expressive they were. How vulnerable and soft she seemed, the last epithets he would have associated with someone who hunted dangerous creatures… who hunted _vampires_.

His lips thinned. She hunted monsters like him… no, not like him. He wasn't a monster. He was… he didn't hunt her kind. No matter how _easy_ they were (well he remembered it), or how _appetizing_ they smelt… he didn't hunt humans. Not anymore. And now, never.

He heard a hiss of displeasure, and it wasn't hard to figure out from whom.

_Rosalie_.

He could understand his family's concern; after all, he was the newest to their diet. What he couldn't understand, and therefore took offence to, was the lack of support. Edward and Rosalie were openly against his move, Emmett and Alice thought it 'risky', and even Carlisle had a small kernel of doubt in his heart. Only Esme wholeheartedly supported him, and the knowledge sent a rush of affection for her through him.

Well, the others would come around. And hopefully, so would Ivanna.

* * *

As she exited Chemistry, Ivy bumped into a rock-hard shoulder. When she realized who it was, horror filled her. "Jasper." She murmured, scanning his face to gauge whether the sudden moment of proximity had triggered his _instincts_ or not.

"Ivy, you coming?" Mike Farr was waiting for her a few paces away. Oh yes, lunch. They'd had lunch together with the same group since their elemetary school days.

"Yeah, give me a minute… you needed something?" She turned back to Jasper, taking a discreet step away as she did. She couldn't deny that she was impressed by his control, though. His jawline was perhaps a little tenser than before, and he was holding himself even more rigidly, but they were signs of control, not of unleashed bloodlust. The iron self-control over what must be one of his most basic urges was… impressive, really.

"I wanted to know…" His eyes flicked from her to Mike, then settled on her again. This time, they didn't waver. Indeed, he seemed to be intent on her, focused on her as though she was the only thing he could see. "If you would like to join me for lunch?"

Glory, those eyes… she'd always _read_ about the 'smoldering look', but this… she could feel the goosebumps rising, and tried to shove that feeling down. A messy job. But necessary.

"Whose going to be eating?" She asked. With a shock, she realized that she was _smiling_, like it was a _joke_… and that she actually _was_ joking.

With a vampire about his meal.

A small smile settled on his lips. "We have lunch in the cafeteria, Ivanna." She made a mental note to ban him from saying her name, or glory, she'd actually start to _like_ it. "So I assure you that it'll be _your_ meal."

"It's still… a little early, don't you think?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Good. Calm, controlled Ivy was back.

"You don't want to?" He raised an eyebrow, mimicking her.

She glanced back at Mike, who was still waiting for her. One of her oldest friends, like those waiting for her. They'd _always_ had lunch together. She looked back at Jasper, at his burning eyes, and suddenly felt a sharp desire for something _new._ Something fresh and new and maybe even _dangerous_… but it was also something very, very stupid.

"No, I don't think so, Jasper." She met his gaze coolly. "I always eat with Mike and a few others. Maybe sometime… _later_." Her tone made it clear that it would be very much _later_ indeed.

"As you wish." He threw Michael a disparaging look over her shoulder, then strode away in the direction _opposite_ to the cafeteria. He moved with the kind of grace that made even well-coordinated, 'graceful' Ivy feel heavy and clumsy. She gazed after him for a moment, before turning to join a waiting Mike.

"What did pretty-boy Hale want with you?" Mike asked protectively. "I didn't like the way he looked at you, Ivy."

"Drop it, Mike. It was nothing, alright?" She replied, knowing that Edward Cullen was watching her out of the corner of his eye, and with his super-vampire hearing abilities, probably listening in as well.

Well, let him make what he wanted of that.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Vampire Hunter**

**Chapter four**

**Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize here don't belong to me, as I don't own the Twilight series.  
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"How's it going?" Ivy heard when she entered her home. It was Billy's voice, and she hurried to the sitting-room upon hearing it.

And stopped short. Because there was a _mountain_ of a man behind Billy. The dark skin and hair of a Quileute, and the face… hard, chiseled, stern, set… what had only recently been the recognizable face of Sam Uley.

"This- this is… you're… _Sam_?" She stammered, going red. Interested or not, she was a teenage girl, and Sam was _hot_. Attractive. Something like amusement flashed through Billy's eyes, before they turned serious again, and he nodded. "He phased a week ago. I was told of it yesterday. He's a werewolf… and he'll be the Alpha of the new pack."

Ivy nodded slowly, allowing it to sink in. She turned to Sam, grinning at the boy she'd known all her life. "Wow. Sam, you got hot."

His brow furrowed as he looked at her. He didn't laugh as she'd intended him to, but regarded her carefully. "You stink, Ivy."

Well, _that_ was a put-down if she'd ever heard any. Granted, she hadn't been trying to pull the moves on him… and a good thing too. She scowled. "And rude." She snapped. "Thought you'd learn some manners now you're all grown up."

"What he means," Billy quickly interjected. "Is that you smell of vampires, Ivy. Sam, that smell is that of a vampire. Remember it."

"You've been around a bloodsucker?" Sam said, a look of anger slowly making its way onto his face. He began to shake, to tremble as though afraid… only it wasn't. His face was set in harsh lines, and Ivy took a hasty step back from him. "Sam…" She began uncertainly.

"Sam, enough. Ivy can handle herself." Billy ordered.

It took a few moments, but the shaking subsided, though the look of anger remained. "She's _human_."

"Oh, well spotted." Ivy snorted. "Took you long enough to notice. But I'm also a hunter. Of vampires. We've been vampire hunters for generations."

"Vampire hunters?"

Nadezhda rose, and Ivy jumped. "Mama, I didn't see you." She said. Her mother ignored her; Ivy wasn't surprised. She had pretty much become a part of the furniture, as far as her mother was concerned.

"We have a common enemy, you and I." Nadezhda said. No one missed out the way she said 'I'. "We hunt the blood drinkers, just as you do. Our ways are different, but our ends are not."

Sam nodded. Then he turned to Ivy. "Why do you reek of leech, then?"

Ivy shrugged. "I'll let Billy explain that. I'm going upstairs. I want a wash."

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"So… you hang out with a bloodsucker on a daily basis, then?" Sam asked, kicking a stone about twenty metres ahead. Ivy nodded. "Stop making it sound like I'm having fun, Sammy. I'm not. This is like… like a mission. And I don't hang out with him… I see him at school, in classes, and I try not to stab him on instinct, and talk to him a bit, when he talks. He knows I don't like him, though, so it's all good."

"Hard to believe you can fight bloodsuckers, Ivy." A faint smile curled Sam's lips. "You're a twig."

"Ah, but you haven't seen me take a leech down. And I'd rather be a twig than a… a bloody mass of muscle!" Ivy exclaimed, smacking his arm. "How's Leah, by the way, I haven't seen her in ages."

It was as though shutters had been drawn in Sam's face. Ivy was stunned by the change in his expression- from warm and friendly (for Sam anyway), he suddenly became cold and reserved, and his face was rigid and emotionless. "Leah is… fine. I don't really know."

"_You don't know?_" Ivy was incredulous; she'd never heard those words from Sam's lips in connection with Leah before. There wasn't a _damn thing_ Sam didn't know about Leah. What the hell was going on?

"I… It's complicated, Ivy." Sam ran his fingers through his thick black hair. "She's not… I don't know… I haven't seen her in a week."

It clicked. "You're worried about how she'll take the whole 'phasing' issue? Oh lord, Sam, she won't care! Well, she might be a little cut up because you haven't seen her in a week, but… she loves you, so-"

"That's the problem." Sam cut it, before realizing that he'd said something, and that that _something_ was about the worst thing he could have said. Ivy looked stunned. "Excuse me?" Last she'd checked, Sam had been head over heels for Leah Clearwater; he'd even hinted (a very, _very_ subtle hint, but a hint nevertheless) at _marriage_…

So what was going on?

"Leah loves you… and that's a problem?" Ivy repeated, slowly, just to make sure she'd got it right, desperately hoping she'd got it wrong.

"I- I don't know if I feel… I don't know… the same way about her… or at least as strongly…" Sam muttered, his words coming disjointed and slowly descending into a mumble.

As Sam continued to stammer and grope for words, Ivy could feel something of a panic attack coming on. Sam and Leah…_ Sam and Leah… Leah_… Leah and Ivy had always been close, being the oldest girls on the Rez (Ivy was practically family, anyway- Billy Black had seen to that) after Rachel and Rebecca had left. No one could doubt Leah's feelings for Sam, but only Ivy knew just how deep they were, and the very idea of Sam not feeling the same way, or of them _breaking up_, was unnatural to Ivy because _Leah loved Sam _and she would _break_ if he didn't love her back. And Ivy _couldn't_ allow that to happen. Not to _Leah._

"Sam…"

"… completely confused… this whole wolf thing's just thrown me off, I don't know what- huh?" Sam stopped and looked at her.

"You know what I think?" She allowed a small, compassionate smile to creep onto her face, and her eyes softened. "I think you should talk to Leah, let her in again, because you're the only werewolf around, and you don't need to tough it out alone. I know it must be a lot to take in, you know, this whole wolf thing, and I guess your emotions are kind of going haywire, but _I'm_ sure you still love Leah, so you just need to settle into this new thing, figure it out… and it'll all be back to normal, yeah? I mean, no one could possibly doubt how much you two love each other, so just… work through this, 'coz you two… you're _made_ for each other, you know?"

She watched as Sam thought through her words, telling herself that she'd acted for the best. After all, Sam _did_ love Leah, so what was wrong with just giving him a little nudge in the right direction? She was just trying to influence his feelings to be as strong as they had been before, what was wrong with that? It wasn't as though she was trying to create feelings that didn't exist! A little benevolent outside interference, that's all it was. And for Leah's sake; it wasn't as though she was doing it for herself.

Eventually Sam nodded. "I guess you're right. I'll go see her tomorrow."

"Awesome. I'd better get going, though, it's getting late." She replied, smiling.

"Yeah, me too. Long drive back to the Rez. See ya later, Ivy."

"G'night." She raised a hand in farewell, and turned up the garden path to her front door.

"Dinner is on the table." Nadezhda informed her coldly.

"Yes, Mama." Ivy replied. "I'll be right back. Need to change."

She changed quickly into a tank top and a pair of shorts, and hurried back downstairs.

"Ivanna."

"Yes, Mama?" Ivy looked up from her fish and chips.

"You have been careful, haven't you?" Her mother asked, deliberately wording her sentence so as to mask any maternal concern she felt. After all, her daughter was fraternizing with vampires.

Ivy smiled. "Yes, I have, don't worry, Mama."

_Stupid vampires. Showing up and making my life difficult._

The telephone rang. "I'll get it." Nadezhda said, rising and going to the table. "It's probably Mrs. Newton, calling about her cat again."

Ivy laughed as her mother raised the receiver.

"Billy."

Ivy's head shot up. _Twice in one day?_

"… Very well, I will tell her." She put the receiver down and turned to her daughter. "It's Billy. He called to let us know that the blood drinkers have agreed to meet them tomorrow, but since they will not be allowed on the Reservation, and Sam doesn't want to stray too far onto their 'turf', they are asking permission for them to meet here. In our house."

_For some reason, I'm more okay with that than I should be._ "I don't like it, but I'm game." Ivy replied. "You?"

"I suppose we'll have to bear it." Nadezhda said through gritted teeth. "I'll tell Billy that it should be alright."

Ivy went back to her fish, chips and TV without saying another word, allowing the loud blaring of the programme to mask her little reverie. _I should not be so okay with the vampires coming home… something is seriously wrong with me._  
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